Iran lawmakers vow to fully support Hezbollah

March 7, 2016

Over 200 Iranian lawmakers have strongly condemned a decision by the [Persian] Gulf Arab states to label Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organization, expressing their full support for the resistance movement.

On Wednesday, the six-nation [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) issued a statement dubbing Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The bloc – comprising Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait – claimed that Hezbollah’s moves in the region are against international values and moral and human principles.

In a Monday statement, 222 members of Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) denounced the Arab bloc’s offensive move against Hezbollah which they also described as an insult to the Lebanese government and nation.

It added that the lawmakers, as representatives of the great Iranian nation, “once again expressed their all-out support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah and its brave leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah.”

“Lebanon’s Hezbollah is the symbol of resistance against the Zionist regime [Israel]. In the absence of Hezbollah, the Zionist regime would continue its occupation of southern Lebanon and Takfiris allied with this regime would violate Lebanon’s territorial integrity just like in Syria,” the lawmakers said.

The Iranian lawmakers emphasized that Hezbollah as well as Palestinian resistance movements, Islamic Jihad and Hamas, have stood up against the massive and brutal offensives by the global arrogance, especially the US and Israel.

They said the [P]GCC labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization under Saudi pressure.

However, countries like Oman, Kuwait and even Qatar should not follow Saudi Arabia and stand against other Muslim states, the legislators’ statement added.

It said these countries are expected to throw their weight behind Hezbollah as the symbol of resistance against Israel.

The [P]GCC’s decision to blacklist Hezbollah has been met with opposition and criticism.

Algeria refused to classify the movement as a terrorist organization. Palestinian resistance movement, Islamic Jihad, also praised Hezbollah as a resistance movement, which has a history in the struggle against the Zionist entity as well as in supporting the Palestinian cause. Iran, Syria and Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement have also slammed the move by the [P]GCC.